Science of Sport Merges STEM with Athletics

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Elementary students in an Orange County school district will soon be learning STEM lessons through the context of sports thanks to a recent grant from the California Department of Education grant. The Anaheim City School District has also partnered with the local soccer and baseball clubs — the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, respectively — to augment the new science programs with specialized curricula. Sarah Tully of the OC Register explains:

“Elementary students will learn how baseball is played on a diamond, what math is used by groundskeepers and ways players train to score — all with help from the Angels and the LA Galaxy.

Teachers will start learning about lessons next month at Angel Stadium and later at the StubHub Center in Carson, where the Galaxy plays. The district hopes to train up to 70 teachers.

The Angels and Galaxy plan to provide game tickets so students can see the science in action.”

Also playing a role is Arizona-based STEM education nonprofit Science of Sport, which, as you can probably imagine, focuses its curricula on learning via sports.